JABS ARE HERE. Some 4,760 vials, equivalent to 47,600 doses, of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines arrive at the Bacolod-Silay Airport from Manila on Tuesday (May 11, 2021). The province of Negros Occidental has an allocation of 3,080 while Bacolod City has received 1,680 vials. (Photo courtesy of Provincial Incident Management Team-Negros Occidental)
BACOLOD CITY – Some 47,600 doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines allocated by the national government for the province of Negros Occidental and the Bacolod City arrived at the Bacolod-Silay Airport on Tuesday.
A report from the Office of Civil Defense-Western Visayas (OCD-6) showed that Negros Occidental received an allocation of 3,080 vials or 30,800 doses while Bacolod City was given 1,680 vials or 16,800 doses. Each vial of AstraZeneca vaccine contains 10 doses.
In a statement, Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the latest arrival of British-Swedish-made jabs is part of the 127,000 doses allocated by the national government to Western Visayas.
Leonardia himself had earlier requested the national government to allocate more vaccines for Bacolod amid the surge in local cases.
The deployment of additional AstraZeneca vaccines to the province and the city came after the arrival of 2 million doses of the said brand to the Philippines, from the COVAX Facility, on May 8, 2021.
The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines allocated for Negros Occidental and Bacolod City was dispatched by the Department of Health-Western Visayas on March 12.
It is comprised of 386 vials, including 74 vials released to the Provincial Health Office and 312 vials, for the City Health Office here.
On April 17, Leonardia took his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying his choice supports the decision of the city government to purchase AstraZeneca jabs expected to arrive in July this year.
“That means, if that is the brand for our people, that should be my brand, too. I will stand with our people,” he said.
In February, the city government made a 20 percent initial payment of more than PHP31 million to AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines Inc. for the procurement of 650,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
Also, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson then said that the provincial government paid an initial amount of more than PHP4 million after securing 100,000 doses from the British-Swedish drugmaker. (PNA)
